Lost in the Dark
by St-Bazza
Summary: After an accident in battle, Robin finds himself stranded in a strange land. Now he must find his way home. Meanwhile, a certain blue cloaked Titan is obsessed with finding him. TRIAL RUN
1. Stranded

**A/N: This is a trial run of the first two chapters of a Teen Titans fanfic I am considering writing. Please read and review. If Reception is good then I will continue writing.**

**1#: Stranded**

Robin's head pounded as he swam slowly back to consciousness. What had happened to give him such a headache? His body ached from lying on what felt like hard stone for hours. Slowly he opened his eyes to see the night sky. He must have been out for a long time. The last thing he remembered, he and the other Titans had been fighting Mumbo and that had been mid afternoon. Still something seemed off about the what he was seeing. The stars seemed...red? That couldn't be right.

He sat up quickly and immediately fell back again as spots exploded in his vision. He must have hit his head _really_ hard. He tried sitting up again, more slowly this time and looked about. He appeared to be sitting on a floating island of rock in a black abyss, which was studded with red pinpoints of light which he took to be stars. All around there were other floating islands, some bigger than his, some smaller, some barren and some with leafless, dead looking trees. On one distant island he thought he could see small black birds sitting in one of the trees.

Robin closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, trying to think of how he had got here...

}0{

"Titans GO!" yelled Robin as they ran into the bank where the criminal magician Mumbo was siphonning money into his top hat. The Titans all charged. Cyborg fired his sonic cannon, only to have Mumbo vanish within his top hat and reappear a moment later once the danger had passed. Beast Boy leapt at Mumbo in the form of a wolf before finding a muzzle had materialised on his snout.

For every attack they made, Mumbo seemed to have a counter.

Until she joined the fight.

"Azerath. Metrion. ZINTHOS!" Raven yelled. A massive hand formed of dark energy rose from the ground and grasped at Mumbo. Mumbo raised his wand to defend himself, only to have it crushed against his body. There was a flash of light as the wand snapped and suddenly Raven's own shadow summonings were thrashing about, out of control. Mumbo was hurled away by the detonation caused as the two magics collided. The other Titans turned and ran as Raven tried desperately to reign in the forces raging around them. Robin stayed near, waiting in case she needed his help. Suddenly the darkness pulsed outwards, straight towards him. Before he could react it swept over him and he had ended up...where?

}0{

Here.

Robin glanced around and then carefully rose and looked around once again. A short distance away he saw a thin broken piece of wood. Mumbo's wand. He walked over to it and carefully picked it up, sliding it into his belt. It might be useful later.

He walked over to the edge of the island and looked around. There didn't seem to be any way off. As if in response to his thought, hundreds of small pieces of rock rose out of the darkness and fused together to form a path leading towards a distant rock. Beyond that he could see more path forming, stretching endlessly into the distant darkness.

}0{

"What happened there Raven?" asked Cyborg as they strode into the tower.

Raven sighed inwardly. It was just one of the many questions they had been asking for the whole journey back to the tower. "My guess is that my powers mixed with the magic released when Mumbo's wand broke opened some sort of portal and Robin got pulled into it."

"Uh...so where did Robin go?" asked Beast Boy.

"I don't know."

"But you must know!" shrieked Starfire, her voice on the edge of hysteria. "He could be hurt, he could need our help."

"I don't know okay!"

"Then you must find out."

"I will if you just leave me alone long enough to do it!" yelled Raven. On the wall nearby one of the monitors exploded. The empath lifted her arms and shadows rose from the floor and covered her. When they had dispersed, she had vanished.

}0{

Robin looked at the path ahead of him with some scepticism. It looked solid enough, but the fact that he had seen it form before his eyes, coupled with it's narrow width and his unsteady steps following his injury made him doubt whether taking the path was a wise course. On the other hand, he could see no other means to leave the rock he currently occupied, so it seemed that wisdom might have to take a back seat to practicallity in this venture.

Sighing, Robin reached into his belt to retrieve his bo-staff, extending the weapon to it's full length. Using the staff to support his unsteady, clumsy movements, he set off down the path.

}0{

Two days had passed since Robin's disappearance. Tensions were high. The criminals of Jump City seemed to have worked out that something had changed and were becoming bolder. Beast Boy, Starfire and Cyborg had managed to keep things under control thus far, but it was exhaustive work. Without Robin's strategic insight they were at a distinct disadvantage and Raven was occupied constantly seeking a way to bring him back.

None of them were certain how long they could keep it up.

Raven tore through her books. She knew that it had been the combining of Mumbo's magic with her own that had resulted in Robin's disappearance. What she did not know was where he could have gone. She did not know the origins of Mumbo's own abilities and as the criminal had slipped away while they searched for Robin she had had no chance to question him on the matter. Even the wand, Raven's only other potential source of information, had vanished. She was reduced to searching through all her books in the hopes of hitting upon a potential lead.

With a growl of frustration Raven slammed the tome in front of her closed. She was getting nowhere. Crossing her arms and sitting back she glowered about the room, as though looking for something she could break. Her eyes came to rest upon a small table of twisted black wood. The table top held a scattering of rounded white stones, small enough to fit comfortably in the palm of her hand. Each stone was inscribed with several strange symbols that had then been highlighted with charcoal. Through the use of a simple spell she had found in one of her tomes, each stone held a memory. The stones varied widely in content, some were memories of things she had enjoyed, others were memories of loss, while still more were things that she felt should simply not be forgotten.

Raven got up and moved over to the table and began to sift through the stones, looking for one in particular. As she touched each one she saw the briefest flash of the memories contained within: _eating pizza with the other Titans, reading alone atop Titan Tower, sprinting through the halls of Titan Tower as her fears pursued them, flying on a moonlit night, the burning wreckage of the world after her father Trigon had manifested on the mortal plane._ At last she found the one she was looking for and grasped it tightly.

}0{

She was once more the frightened child in the ruined church. She sat there, dwelling on what she had done. She was filled with guilt and shame over what she had done. In unleashing her father she had doomed the only home she had left. She had destroyed the lives of billions. She deserved far worse than this exile in a place of fire and ruin. She would remain here eternally.

A sound at the entrance of the ruin made her look up. She carefully peered out from behind the piece of rubble she was huddled behind.

She saw colours, red and yellow and green. She saw black hair, sitting in untidy spikes. She saw the mask that hid his eyes.

He had come for her, as he had a hundred times before. For a moment she felt hope. The deep crushing despair and guilt would return soon, but for one moment she felt hope.

}0{

Raven dropped the stone quickly back onto the table, not wishing to watch further. Never the less, the memory stayed in her mind. He had braved unknown dangers in coming to that damned place, to pull her back towards the light at her lowest ebb. She could do no less. She would find him.

She quickly walked back to her desk and picked up the tome she had closed earlier opening to the page she had been on before, she began to read.

She would not give up.


	2. Intellect

**#2: Intellect**

Robin looked at the arch before him. It was rough and uneven and sported many spikey protrusions. It was also, with the exception of one large rock with a blackened tree in the center of it, the only thing he had seen on this path to break the monotomy.

Robin winced. Thanks to the demon eyed birds sitting in that tree he now sported several new grazes upon his face and arms. It was not a pleasant memory.

Given the birds and several other things he had experienced while traveling through this void – sudden reversals of gravity not least among them – he was deeply suspicious of anything new.

Being careful not to topple himself, he reached out with his bo-staff and prodded at the stone. It seemed normal enough. The problem with gates however was that they invariably signified a passing from one place into another. He was just learning the rules that governed this place and didn't relish the possibility of having to learn an entirely new set.

Robin looked around and sighed. He had made no real progress in escaping this place that he could discern. Perhaps stepping through the arch would help.

Taking a deep breath and readying his bo-staff, Robin took a tentative step through the arch. As he passed under the warped stone the air about him rippled and the scene about him changed. He found himself standing in what appeared to be a vast library. Ancient shelves stretched up into the lofty rafters and nearly overflowed with tomes, tablets and scrolls. Robin looked behind him and saw that the arch he had entered through remained, though here it sat upon a slightly raised section of floor.

Robin looked left and right from where he stood. The shelves seemed to stretch on forever in both directions. He looked at the aisle in front of him, but it was the same. He shrugged. Any direction appeared to be as good as any other. He set off down the central aisle, keeping his eyes open for anything that might hint at where he should go.

He had been walking for at least and hour before he saw a light down one of the central aisles. The light was the soft glow of a candle or an oil lamp perhaps, rather than the harsh glare of an electric bulb. Robin carefully moved closer, keeping his bo-staff held before him in a guard position. As he got closer, shapes became apparent. Eventually he stopped and looked at the scene in front of him.

He had apparently reached one of the walls of this library. Built into this wall was and open fire place with logs laid out ready for lighting. Before the fire sat a pair of armchairs, the frames apparently carved from mahogany with clawed feet and upholstered with red velvet. Between the chairs sat a low table that was strewn with more books and beside one of them was a small table with an oil lamp and a fine china cup.

It was this cup that put Robin on guard. It was still half full and steaming. Whoever had left it must have left only a short while ago. Carefully he began to turn a circle, checking each of the aisles that entered this area. He was halfway through this cirlce when a voice spoke behind him.

"Well, isn't this interesting."

}0{

Raven gave a grunt of annoyance as she pushed another tome away from her. This was useless! A third day was drawing to a close and she was still no closer to finding out what had happened to Robin. It was enfuriating! She slammed her fist down on the table and felt a pulse of energy leave her hand. Alarmed, she quickly looked about searching for some sort of damage. Seeing nothing she sighed and looked glumly at the stack of books she had already read through on her desk. The sheer size of the pile was depressing.

"You need to rest." said a voice from her doorway.

Raven turned and looked at Cyborg leaning against her door. She shook her head sadly. "I can't. I have to keep looking. I may be the only one that can bring him back."

Cyborg looked at her with concern. The usual spark of keen intelligence in her eyes was now dulled under the weight of exhaustion and dark circles framed her eyes. Her hair that had previously been sleek and shiny now looked dull and dry. He found himself wondering if she had even stopped to eat since starting her research.

"Running yourself into the ground won't help anyone. When was the last time you slept? Or meditated? You once told me that you had to meditate every day to keep your powers under control."

Raven shrugged. "I have it in hand."

"I think otherwise. Come on, I need to show you something."

"But I-" she began, looking back at her book heaped desk.

"They will still be here when you get back. No more excuses. Come on." His tone said clearly that he would brook no more argument on the matter and so Raven followed after him quietly. He lead her down the stairs of the tower to the common area and gestured across the room. Raven's eyes followed the direction of her hand and she winced when she saw what he had meant.

The place was a wreck. The seams of the couch had burst, the TV hung on the wall at an odd angle, and the kitchen counter top had split clean in half. Raven looked further afield and saw that many of the the windows had burst apart and one of the trees on the island had been overturned.

"Damn." she muttered under her breath.

"Damn is right. I came down here to make a sandwich and had this to contend with. You understand why I'm worried now?"

Raven nodded mutely.

"Good. Now do your meditation and then get some rest. Things will look better with fresh eyes." He gestured towards the space before the TV, before settling on the wreckage of the couch. Clearly he intended to watch her to ensure she did as she was told.

Raven walked over to the place he had indicated and settled in mid air on crossed legs. She closed her eyes and began to take long, deep breaths as she sought to calm her thoughts. After several minutes she felt she was ready and so she began her mantra.

"Azerath. Metrion. Zinthos. Azerath. Metrion. Zinthos. Azerath. Metrion. Zinthos."

}0{

Robin spun to look at the person who had spoken. He almost dropped his staff in surprise. It was Raven. He made to step forward to embrace her, so relieved was he to see a friendly face, but something stopped him. It was Raven's face and Raven's form, but details were different. She wore thick, half-moon spectacles and her usually blue cloak was now a bright yellow colour. Robin felt he should remember it and stared at the cloak for a long moment before something clicked.

"Intellect." he said, remembering the fragment representing Raven's intelligence that had formed on the occasion she had been split.

"Correct." replied Intellect. She walked forward and peered at him closely, adjusting her spectacles to see him more clearly. "I felt something out of place, so I went searching. I did not expect it to wander right to my reading area. Or that the something in question would be you Robin."

"What has happened?" asked Robin urgently. "Where are we? How did we get here? How are you even here at all? Did Raven split apart again?"

Intellect held up a hand to forestall any further questions. "It may be prudent for you to allow me time to answer your questions before you jump to the next. Now what would you like to know first?"

Robin looked about then shrugged. "I suppose I would like to know where we are."

Intellect nodded and her eyes took on a distant caste. Then she spoke:

"_And his eyes have all the seeming of a demon's that is dreaming,_

_And the lamp-light o'er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor;_

_And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor_

_Shall be lifted – NEVERMORE!"_

}0{

"What did you say Raven?"

Raven was startled from her meditation by Cyborg's question. She looked at him, feeling slightly annoyed that he was now interrupting her after demanding that she do this a short while before. "What?"

"You said something while meditating just then. Something other than the usual mantra you use."

Raven was confused and annoyance came through in her tone. "What are you talking about?"

Cyborg noted her tone, but continued anyway. "You started muttering something different mid-Zinthos. Sounded like a poem or something. Didn't hear all of it, but I did hear something like 'my soul from out of that shadow on the floor shall be lifted nevermore'. Are you okay?"

Raven had been so shocked by what he said that her concentration had broken and she had fallen to the floor. She rubbed at her sore buttocks as she climbed back to her feet and began to run for the stairs. Cyborg started after her.

"Raven what's going on? Where are you going?"

"I know where he is Cyborg. The answer was in my head the whole time."

Raven ran into her room and practically skidded to a halt in front of her dresser. She picked up the hand mirror which acted as a path into her mind and began to mutter her mantra as she stared into it.

She was in this position when Cyborg caught up to her. He made to come forward, but then recognised the mirror and decided to stay back. He had no wish to be sucked into her mind a second time.

After another minute Raven set the mirror down calmly. Because of this calm, Cyborg was surprised when she turned to him and he saw the stricken look on her face.

"I can't get in. The mirror isn't working."

Cyborg was shocked at this, but did his best to hide it. "And you are saying that Robin is in your mind?"

Raven nodded. Cyborg thought for a moment then looked at Raven again.

"Get some rest and then start again on this in the morning." He turned to go and then looked back. "Best not tell Star and BB for the moment. Wait until we have something concrete."

Raven nodded again at Cyborg's departing back. She walked to her bed, levitating her cloak off of her shoulders and draping it over a chair. This small act helped distract her from the feeling of helplessness growing in her gut. She fell onto her bed and in moments she was asleep.

}0{

Robin stared at Intellect blankly. "Is that supposed to mean something to me?"

Intellect shrugged, "Edgar Allan Poe, the final lines of his work _The Raven_. I feel it describes the situation quite well. Suffice it to say that you are standing in the planes of Nevermore, the realm of Raven's mind."

Robin started at this. "You are saying that I am in her head?" He swore. Just when things seemed at their worse they managed to go further down hill. "Does she know I am in here?"

"She did not, but she does now. What worries me is that her usual methods for entering her mind consciously appear to have failed. Something is keeping her from coming to get you. However, we have bigger problems. Do you remember the other fragments?"

Robin nodded and began to tick them off on his fingers as he ran through the names he had privately given them. "Joy, Meek, Sloth, Brave, Love...and Rage."

"Precisely. You may know that Rage is the embodiment of Trigon's power and influence upon Raven. Rage is stronger than any one of the others. Indeed, we all have to unite to bring her down. Given recent events, Rage is gaining in influence over Raven. As you can guess, this is bad for everyone and must be stopped. The problem is, my counterparts and I seldom agree on anything. Raven is usually the only one who can unite us, but with her out of the picture we no longer have that option."

"So how do you suggest we deal with it?"

"It is simple. You must act as a champion in Raven's stead."

Robin was dumbfounded at this, "And how am I supposed to do that? If Rage is anything like Trigon then only Raven's powers will have any affect on it."

"Simplicity in itself. We shall gift you with a portion of her abillities. They shall have no power outside of this realm, but inside they should make it possible to face Rage on even footing."

"Gift me power? And how exactly is that supposed to work?" Robin asked snidely. "I don't see how you can wrap up 'zinthos' and hand it to me."

Intellect gave him a long, cool look and Robin could have sworn that the temperature in the room suddenly turned chilly.

"Because you have gone through a lot in the past three days I will forgive you your temper. Just. This. Once."

"Three days!" exclaimed Robin. "It can't have been that long. Eight hours at the very most."

"It has been three days on the outside. The fact that you do not percieve the passage of time is irrelevant."

Robin closed his eyes and rubbed at his head. It was still aching terribly from when he had first arrived in this place. Hot bands seemed to be wrapped about it permanently. When he let his hand drop it came away covered in dried blood. He groaned. He could not think clearly like this.

Abruptly a feeling of cool began to spread over his skull. Robin looked up to see Intellect gently touching his head, a carona of dark energy surrounding her hand. He touched his fingers to the back of his head. He could feel the split skin knitting back together beneath his fingers. He looked again at Intellect, who gave him a lopsided smirk.

"I feel your temper may improve if your brain is not able to leak out of that hole in your head."

Robin rubbed the back of his head again. "Thanks. Now again, how does this gifting thing work?"

"I make certain marks on you or something in your possesion then focus my power through them. However for you to use these gifts you will need to understand the nature of them as well. Therefore I will show you one of Raven's memories that has a connection to this gift."

"Really? And she won't have a problem with this at all?" Robin knew he would not like having people peruse through many of his memories.

"She may, but at this time the objection would not be logical. She cannot enter Nevermore at this time, she cannot meditate for sufficiently long periods for worrying that she should be trying to retrieve you and Rage must be contained. Showing you these things is the best course. Now, give me your hand. Your left hand if you please."

Robin sighed and held out his hand to Intellect, who carefully removed his glove. She began to trace marks on the palm of his hand, chanting softly under her breath in tongues Robin had never heard before. Where her fingers passed, black lines began to appear under his skin. Robin felt that they bore some resemblance to the marks he had seen appear on Raven's arms and legs to signify the coming of her father's emergence. These seemed different though, softer somehow, as though the artist were working from the memory of a picture they had seen.

Abruptly Intellect switched her chant into english and Robin listened to the final words of her chant.

"_In ignorance lies shadow and fear,_

_in knowledge the light of truth,_

_let knowledge's light shine in the shadows,_

_let the dark places fail,_

_shine,_

_shine,_

_SHINE!"_

With the last word, all the marks suddenly blazed white hot and dove into the flesh of his hand. Robin gritted his teeth and let out a growl at the searing pain. As he fell to his knees he felt Intellect place her fingers on his temple and suddenly the memory rushed in.

}0{

Raven gloried in the her new found knowledge. Her time with Malchior had taught her much. There was much she could do now that she had never thought possible. Whole new realms of power had been opened to her. There was so much good she could do with what she now knew.

The first thing she would do was deal with the creature before her. The...thing was shaped like an enormous heart and it had a young girl in it's clutches. No doubt if it was not stopped soon the girl would be killed.

Raven smiled. This would be easy.

"Necronom Hezberek Mortix!" she cried, feeling an unbelievable wash of power as she uttered the incantation. The power rushed from her in a wave, hitting the creature and causing terrible damage.

Raven revelled in it. But abruptly she felt something wrong. The flow of power would not stop, if anything it increased as she tried to rein it in and her spell was now threatening the child she had been trying to protect.

_Black magic_. She realised at last. _What a fool I have been. Why would Malchior teach this to me?_

}0{

As abruptly as it had started, the memory ended and Robin found himself looking up at Intellect once more. His hand tingled softly, but the pain had passed.

"Now you see." said the yellow cloaked woman. "I am as much a part of Raven as anything here. In this I failed. I let my love of knowledge blind myself to my ignorance over the true nature of that knowledge. Do not let it be thus for you Robin. And now I believe you should test your gift. Go ahead."

Robin held up his hand and looked for the marks she had put there, but thery were nowhere to be seen. He concentrated on the tingling sensation in his palm and the words of her chant came unbidden to his mind.

_Knowledge's light. _He thought and looked at the hand with a soft smile before thinking one word. _Shine._

His hand blazed with like, so much so that he could no longer see the outline of his fingers against the glare. Covering his eyes, Robin tried to think of a way for him to dim the light and abruptly it did, becoming soft enough that he no longer had to cover his eyes. He turned to Intellect.

"This is...incredible."

"I am glad that you are pleased. But you have a ways to travel yet and I would suggest that you move on before you start feeling too hungry. Here. The way is open."

She gestured towards the fireplace and Robin turned to find the stone hearth replaced by another of those strange uneven archways. Shrugging, Robin took a step forward before looking over his shoulder.

"Thank you." Intellect merely nodded in reply.

With that, Robin turned and marched through the gate.


End file.
